Lambo's Baseball Woes
by daisysakura
Summary: Lambo is known for always quitting school sports and activities but this time is different. This time he has a bet going on with Gokudera so he will not quit baseball. Of course, that changes when the coach expects him to be as good as Yamamoto Takeshi and pushes him harder than the other players. Good thing he has a big brother who doesn't have the same expectations. R&R please!


Welcome to Lambo's Corner! The one corner in the world where I make sure Lambo suffers and gets love from his family to make up for it.

So, I was talking to D C Joker H S and I mentioned my next story would be quite angsty but unfortunately, it's taking a bit longer to finish. Sorry, luv! Instead, I am posting this little something that helped me get out of my writer's block hell which I hope you enjoy.

If there are any serious mistakes which I should correct, please let me know! I tend to find errors later and fix them but if you spot them before I do, tell me. Thank you in advance!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Lambo walked into his room, dropping his backpack and gym bag on the floor before unceremoniously falling into bed himself. His body ached, his bruises had bruises and he was sure he wouldn't be able to walk for at least a month judging by the blisters on his feet.

With a groan, he turned around and stared at the ceiling, wondering how in the world he was going to get through the next two weeks. It had only been two weeks since he had joined the school's baseball team but it felt like he'd been involved for months!

The practice was torture; his coach was a Yamamoto Takeshi fanboy and seemed to have impossible goals for Lambo; as if the Lightning Guardian was ever going to meet them. Unfortunately, he couldn't quit the stupid team because he'd made a bet with Gokudera.

Every time Lambo signed up for a new sport or activity, he would quit after a few practices because it was either 'not his thing' or 'he changed his mind' which had never bothered him before. Of course, that was until Gokudera had mentioned it during a video chat when Lambo told him he had signed up for baseball.

" _We'll see how long you last this time. I bet you a gallon of gelato you won't even make it through a month."_

Lambo, being his usual self, had angrily accepted the bet and told everyone he'd make Gokudera eat his words while he ate gelato. So here he was, two weeks in and feeling like he was going to die. In his defense, if the coach would stop trying so hard to turn him into the next Yamamoto Takeshi, then maybe Lambo would actually enjoy it.

The coach pushed him harder than the other kids and Lambo knew the man expected nothing less than the best from him. Apparently, the coach was a huge fan of his brother and would stop at nothing to make sure Lambo got to Yamamoto's level. Ever since one of the kids had mentioned his relationship with Yamamoto, the coach had figured he had another baseball prodigy in his hands. He sure was in for quite a nasty surprise.

He'd pushed and pushed until Lambo could run within the time demanded of him and his arms had gotten much stronger. Lambo thought he'd been getting slightly better but it had obviously not been enough because the coach thought he needed to be pushed harder.

Lambo wouldn't have cared if he'd had to run more laps or if he'd had to stay longer after practice was over but when the coach started to physically push him and call him names, Lambo knew he would have to leave the moment the month was over otherwise he'd fight back and he didn't want his family to know what had been going on in order for him to get expelled.

He still practiced hard and his feet were constantly hurting now, he was sure they'd never bled so much before. Perhaps the coach would lighten up soon seeing how much effort he put in.

At least, he might have if not for today's game; Lambo knew he'd never reach his brother's rank but today definitely proved it.

Lambo's team had been doing well until the last inning with the other team winning by one. Then, by a complete miracle, the tables had turned and Lambo's team had managed to get bases loaded. Of course, the next batter had been the trembling Lambo who hadn't been able to shake off his nerves. His team lost and Lambo had never felt like such a failure.

It didn't matter that it had just been a practice game, it didn't matter that they didn't have much of an audience, he'd cost them the game and was looked at with nothing but pity. His teammates knew how much the coach pressured him and knew Lambo would suffer for this.

Once everyone had left, Lambo had been ordered to run laps around the field with a tire tied to his waist. It was cold and he was tired but Lambo had not been able to come up with any viable excuses. He'd let the team down and the coach was furious.

The worst began when it had only been him and the coach. The man had physically pushed him, throwing Lambo onto the ground with a shout. It wasn't the first time Lambo had been treated in such a way; in fact, the Bovinos had done it too but the name calling, the put downs…it was not something he enjoyed.

Lambo cried into his pillow. He felt pathetic, he would never be anywhere near as talented as his brother but the coach didn't seem to understand that. Lambo normally wouldn't have cared but the coach was pretty good at getting to him.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and for one split second, he was terrified at the thought of his coach calling to yell some more. He looked at the screen and slightly relaxed when he saw Yamamoto's smiling face on the caller ID. With slight trepidation, he answered the call.

" _Hi, Lambo! I remembered you had a practice game today and wanted to know how it had gone."_

Lambo looked at the clock on his dresser; 10:30 pm so that meant it was about 2:30 pm over in Italy. He must have been waiting all day for the results. He knew Yamamoto was happy that Lambo had given his beloved sport a chance which made him feel a bit guilty. With a sigh, he wondered how disappointed his brother would be in him.

"We lost by one."

" _That's not bad at all, I'm sure you all tried your best."_

"We would have won if I'd at least hit the damn ball…"

" _Lambo, baseball is more than just winning. It's a sport where you get stronger and build plenty of self-confidence while having fun."_

At the mention of the word fun, something inside of Lambo snapped. This was supposed to be fun? His body felt broken just like his spirit, his coach hated him and he'd never reach Yamamoto's level but it was fun?

"Fun? Baseball is so stupid! It has nothing to with fun if you can't win a stupid game!"

" _Lambo-"_

Lambo ignored the surprised and hurt tone in his brother's voice. He was finally able to release his frustrations and he wasn't about to stop now.

"Maybe for you but not everyone can _be_ as great as you! I didn't sign up to be constantly reminded of how great my brother is or of how I'll never be as good as him; I can't have fun when I'm not you!"

Lambo tried to hold the tears but it was hopeless. "I hate baseball! I hate baseball, I hate the team, I hate the coach and I hate everything to do with you!"

As soon as the words were out, Lambo gasped and shut his mouth. He hadn't meant to say that but his emotions were just all over the place. There was silence on the other line and Lambo had to check his phone to make sure Yamamoto hadn't hung up.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I wasn't…I'm sorry!"

Lambo hung up then quickly turned off his phone. Oh man, he had really screwed up now. He had let his anger get the best of him and knew his brother would try calling again to find out why. He'd probably, no, he would definitely get worried when he realized Lambo had turned the phone off. The last thing he wanted was for them to find out what had been going but at this rate, he'd fail at that too.

He knew his brothers and Chrome were very protective and still treated him like a baby but he could take care of himself. He had to show them he didn't need them to fight all of his battles. Besides, he'd made a bet and he would not be quitting now.

His body ached, his bruises had bruises and his feet were burning but he'd be damned if he gave Gokudera such an easy win. No, he'd stick it out and he would last the full month so he could brag about it. But after the hell he'd been put through, once that month was over, he would make sure a lightning bolt made its way to his jerk of a coach. Nobody messed with him and got away with it.

* * *

Lambo gasped for air, he knew practice was going to be hard but the demon of a coach had really given it to him today. The whole day he'd had Lambo running laps with that blasted tire and then had him practicing his swings for almost two hours nonstop before going back to laps. His heart was beating so fast, Lambo was surprised it hadn't given up on him yet.

He watched as the last of his teammates left the field, the sun having already set. It would just be him and the coach for who knew how long. Speaking of the devil, Lambo watched his coach make his way towards him; a frown and deadly stare set on him. Of course, after having Hibari give him worse, this really didn't scare him.

"Why did you stop?"

"I was…taking a break."

Lambo was still panting, his chest heaving painfully. The slap to the face was new. Lambo fell to his knees, not necessarily because of the impact but more because he knew this would take a while and he really was tired.

"A break? Do you think you deserve a break?!"

Lambo coughed, his lungs screaming for rest. "No, I probably don't."

He knew he was mouthing off now but he needed some sleep and he needed it now. The coach kicked him down with a yell. "You think this is funny? You're beyond useless!"

"Lambo!"

Lambo watched a teammate run across the field and hoped he hadn't seen that but of course, he was never that lucky. His friend stood between Lambo and the coach in such a protective stance, Lambo thought he was channeling one of his brothers. Of course, his brothers would already be attacking but still.

"Please, leave him alone. He's worked harder than the rest of us; you can't keep treating him like this."

Oh, so he knew what's been going on; great.

"I'm training him to get stronger! A weakling like you has no idea how much potential he has."

"It's wrong. You're abusing him now, that's not right! You-you have to stop or I'll report you."

Lambo blinked in surprise. He knew his teammates liked him but not once did he think someone would actually stand up for him.

"Kenji, I'm fine. This is just training."

"No, you're not fine. You're hurt and if you keep going like this you're going to end up in the hospital."

"Are you saying I'm deliberately hurting my precious player? How dare you!"

The coach raised his hand and it was obvious what would come next. Lambo tried to stand but his body wouldn't let him; his strength was completely gone.

"Kenji!"

Lambo watched with shock as the coach's arm was grabbed from behind before the man was thrown harshly to the ground; a long leg keeping him in place.

"Now, now that's not how you treat children."

"Ta…Take-nii?" Lambo rubbed his eyes, almost positive he was seeing things but no, his brother was actually there; holding his coach to the ground.

"Hiya, Lambo. It's been a long time, huh."

"Wha-how? When did you get here?"

"A few hours ago. Now, before you start changing the subject, how about you tell me what's going on."

Lambo gulped. This was not how he expected the truth to come out. Heck, he hadn't wanted it to come out at all.

"We were doing some intense training when that brat showed up, he misunderstood and I got a little upset, Yamamoto-kun."

"You may know my name but you don't know me. Do not talk to me as if you do."

The coach paled at the murderous glint in Yamamoto's eyes.

"O-of course. I apologize, Yamamoto-san."

"Lambo, is that true?"

Lambo looked between his coach and teammate. The last thing he wanted was more problems but if the coach was to get fired, his team would have nobody else. He knows the entire team has been working hard to be as strong as they currently are and deserved to have some more games.

"Yea, it was just a misunderstanding."

"No, it wasn't! Lambo, please-"

"You don't know what you saw, Kenji. Just drop it."

Kenji had never seen Lambo so serious and closed his mouth but wondered why Lambo would choose to stay quiet especially with his big brother here.

"I see. Well Kenji-kun, may I call you Kenji-kun?"

At the child's nod, Yamamoto pointed towards his little brother. "Kenji-kun, may you escort my brother to the infirmary, please."

"Take-nii, I'm fine."

Lambo knew what was going on. Yamamoto wanted them gone so he could 'speak' with their coach which would more than likely involve threats and his katana.

"Oh? In that case, let me call Hibari and ask him to come get you."

As soon as Hibari was mentioned, Lambo quickly stood up; his strength completely renewed and started to pull a confused Kenji away. "Please don't kill him!" He shouted back, grinning at the way his coach paled.

Once Yamamoto was sure the kids were gone, he pulled the man up, the man he knew was responsible for Lambo hating baseball. He shoved him hard against the fence and brought his face close enough to the point where their noses almost touched.

"I may not know everything but I will. I have a good idea of what's been going on for which you will immediately resign as coach-"

"Are you crazy?! I can't-"

Yamamoto raised his leg, landing a strong knee to the man's gut; he cried out in pain but didn't dare move when Yamamoto laughed.

"I wasn't asking you. To be honest, I'm actually doing you a favor. When my brother Hibari Kyoya, you might have heard of him, finds out what's been happening, he will be very unhappy. He really hates violence, you see."

The coach began to tremble at the monster's name. He knew what kind of things the protector of Namimori was capable of doing to anyone who disturbed the peace of his beloved town. He was terrified to think of what he would do to somebody who'd hurt one his friends. If he'd known Lambo was a friend of Hibari, he wouldn't have even accepted him on the team.

"He especially hates when someone hurts his brothers."

"Please, please have mercy!"

Yamamoto laughed once more. To anyone passing by, the laughter would appear to be carefree and seemingly fun. To those that knew him, however, it would be recognized as a promise of death.

"Like you showed my brother? Well, I am known as the kind one in the family so I suppose I can show some mercy. In fact, I'll warn you to leave Namimori and move as far away as possible. Once my brothers learn everything, I'm afraid they'll want their own retribution."

The coach began to cry. How had things gotten this bad? All he'd wanted was to have his name attached to a baseball prodigy, had that been too much to ask for?

"And just so you know, Lambo will never be anything like me because he's not me. He's Lambo and he's amazing just as he is."

Once Yamamoto released the sobbing mess of a coach, the man quickly bowed in thanks and began to shakily walk away. "Haha! Did you think you would get away without _my_ punishment?"

The smile on Yamamoto's face definitely promised death and the coach, former coach, knew it.

* * *

"Yea, yea I should have said something but I'm fine," Lambo argued from the infirmary bed as Kenji applied ointment to his blistered feet.

"We didn't know he was hitting you otherwise we would have said something sooner. You're so stupid!"

"I'm fine! You sound worse than my mother-hen brothers and that's saying something."

"We're supposed to be a team, be there for each other. I'm sorry we didn't help you sooner. We saw how much he pushed you but not once did you fight him off. We thought you just wanted to become better and let it go on. I'm sorry."

Lambo was speechless. He didn't think he'd made such an impression on his teammates. "Kenji, I'm fine. I can take care of myself and if I hadn't been able to take it, I would have left a long time ago. In fact, I was planning on leaving after another week."

"So you were going to leave after a month? It all makes sense now." A new voice laughed.

Lambo and Kenji looked up to the doorway where Yamamoto stood with a huge smile, his hands in his pants pockets.

"Just tell me he's still breathing."

Yamamoto laughed once more. "Of course, his ribs didn't puncture anything when they broke. At least, I don't think they did."

Lambo sighed; running a frustrated hand down his face. "Yea, I'm sure he'll live for at least another day or so until Psycho-nii finds him."

Kenji wasn't sure if they were serious or not but decided not to ask either way. "Um, I gotta go home now so I'll see you later, Lambo."

Yamamoto watched the kid grab his stuff then head towards him. The Rain Guardian ruffled his hair and smiled. "Thanks for watching out for my baby brother, if you ever need anything let me know." He sincerely offered as he handed a business card to Kenji.

"It's no problem. Uh, if you can, try and make sure Lambo doesn't stand too much. His feet were bleeding and must really hurt but he won't admit it."

"Hey, I'm right here…" Lambo muttered with a frown.

"I'll make sure he takes it easy, thanks. Do you need a ride?"

"No, I don't live far from here. Thank you, though!"

Once Kenji had left, Yamamoto walked over and continued with Lambo's treatment.

"When did you get business cards?"

His question was met with silence and the youngest guardian didn't miss the way his older brother's knuckles were bruised. Yamamoto must have really used them on his coach. Sure, he seemed calm and collected but Lambo knew better; the anger was rolling off in waves. "I'm sorry."

Yamamoto didn't say anything; instead, he began to wrap his brother's feet with bandages. Lambo winced when slight pressure was applied, his feet were extremely sore. Yamamoto looked up when Lambo flinched and sighed.

"I wish you had said something."

Out of all his brothers, Yamamoto was the slowest to anger but the first to show disappointment. If anything, Lambo would rather anger Gokudera a hundred times before disappointing Yamamoto once. Well, there was no point in denying anything now that his brother knew.

"I know but I was going to take care of it once I left. The hitting didn't start until a few days ago and I would never have let him get away with anything major."

"Lambo, any physical touch is major; verbal abuse is as well. You shouldn't have experienced it at all and you definitely should have reported it right away."

"But I'm fi-" He hissed in pain when Yamamoto touched the bottom of his injured feet none too gently.

"This is not fine, don't try and say it is."

"Ok, so I'm a little hur-" He hissed once more when his brother pinched his foot. "Stop that! I get it, I get it; I'm pretty hurt. I'm sorry I didn't say anything but I knew once I had left the team, he would have returned to the kind coach he was before. I was the one that turned him into that jerk so with me gone the team wouldn't have lost their only coach."

Yamamoto gave a slight smile, patting Lambo's head. "You have a kind heart, Lambo. I understand you wanted to help your team but you went about it all wrong. And you were not at fault. This was all his doing and he's the one that will pay." Another sigh. "If you had come to me you wouldn't hate baseball and I would have told you not to try and be me. You're great just as you are."

Lambo blushed at the compliment before he remembered his last conversation with Yamamoto. "I'm sorry for the way I acted over the phone. I really didn't mean it. I was tired and upset but I don't hate baseball. I could never hate anything that makes you happy, Take-nii."

Lambo had just finished speaking when Yamamoto engulfed him in a tight hug. "You make your brother so happy!"

Lambo tried to push him away to no avail; he waited for his brother to release him instead.

"And don't worry about your team; I'll make sure they have a suitable coach. At least temporarily until the school finds a permanent one."

Lambo brightened up at that. "Really, Take-nii? You know someone?"

Yamamoto's smile widened as he pulled out his phone. "Of course!"

Lambo watched with hopeful eyes as he dialed someone. They waited for the other person to answer and when they did, Lambo felt his smile fade; a little nervous now. Why would Yamamoto be calling Tsuna?

"Hey Tsuna, I'm going to be taking my vacation now."

Lambo's eyes widened, having an idea of where his brother was going with this.

"He's fine but his coach was mistreating him pretty badly so I asked him to resign," He paused as Tsuna said something. "Haha, he's still breathing and no, Hibari isn't aware of it yet."

Lambo groaned. This is what he was afraid of.

"But I'll be coaching his team until the school finds someone else," Another pause. "Yes, Lambo will stay on the team as repentance for not saying anything."

Somehow, Lambo knew this would happen. Yamamoto would be a great coach and he would most certainly make the team work hard but at least Lambo knew he would never go home with bloodied feet again.

"I have to carry him home because he has to stay off his feet but he'll be fine."

Lambo lowered his head. The only good thing was that his other mother-hen brothers were in Italy so they wouldn't shower him with affection as he knew Yamamoto would. Luckily, Hibari didn't know what affection was.

"Sure thing, I'll talk to you later."

Yamamoto smiled as he handed the phone over to Lambo. Of course, Tsuna would want to talk to him.

"Hello?"

 _"Hi, Lambo, anything you want to say?_ "

Lambo looked at Yamamoto then his bruised knuckles. He knew his brother would make sure Lambo experienced how fun baseball could be under the right coach and he knew his one week had just been extended for the rest of the season but Lambo didn't care. He knew he had nothing to worry about with his brother around.

"Yea, tell Stupidera he owes me a gallon of gelato."

* * *

This was supposed to be a quick one-shot for my writer's block but it ended up being over 4k. Yikes! Anywho, hope you all enjoyed and will leave me a review? They really make me happy and help to motivate me. This other story I'm working on could use a little motivation. Hint, hint. Of course, it'll end up with Lambo really needing his brothers so I'd be very wary if I were him. Haha!

See you next time on Lambo's Corner!


End file.
